@mastersthesis {6238, title = {Improving retirement security in the United States}, volume = {3642719}, year = {2014}, note = {Copyright - Copyright ProQuest, UMI Dissertations Publishing 2014 Last updated - 2014-10-22 First page - n/a}, month = {2014}, pages = {351}, school = {Northeastern University}, type = {Ph.D.}, address = {Boston}, abstract = {The public media, surveys of workers and the general public have indicated increasing concern with retirement security in the face of lengthening life expectancies, the costs of retirement living, and anxieties over the reported insufficiency of retirement savings balances to fund a decent retirement. The major questions of this dissertation are, first, whether the major parts of the United States retirement income security system, namely Social Security and the private pension system, are currently providing sufficient retirement security for all retirees? And second, how could this national system be reformed, if necessary, to provide greater retirement income security? Because the problem of elderly security is an international one, the United States retirement income security system is compared to those of some of the other economically advanced countries of the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), and more particularly, France, Sweden and Japan. An assessment of the contrasting design elements and retirement income security outcomes is made. Recommendations for reform of the United States system are offered which are based on an appraisal of the peculiar strengths and weaknesses of the United States system as well as on any promising design elements of the other examined national systems that might be adaptable to the United States.}, keywords = {Cross-National, Health Conditions and Status, Pensions, Public Policy, Retirement Planning and Satisfaction, Social Security}, url = {http://proxy.lib.umich.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1609374280?accountid=14667http://mgetit.lib.umich.edu/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004\&ctx_enc=info:ofi/enc:UTF-8\&rfr_id=info:sid/ProQuest+Dissertations+\%26+Theses+A\%26I\&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:}, author = {Burns, Michael J.} }